This is a blog dedicated to highlight the issue of Christian Persecution in India. The posts here in contain information about Christian Persecution in India from various sources with links and some exclusive to us. No Copyright infringement is intended. This is only for the purpose of spreading awareness about the ongoing Christian persecution in India. We have no political affiliations. We hope for a nation where all could live in peace with each other.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

JAIPUR, India (Reuters) - Indian Christian leaders said on Wednesday that a bill proposed by a local government to ban what Hindu activists call forced religious conversions would be used to harass the tiny community further.Officials and activists in Rajasthan say that hundreds of tribals and low-caste Hindus are being converted to Christianity by missionaries each month, some by force and others by the lure of money.

The state government which is led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party plans to adopt legislation in the current session of the state assembly to ban such conversions.

The proposed law calls for jail terms up to five years for those found guilty of forcing or encouraging others to convert.

Anand Chaudhary, president of the Rajasthan Bible Institute, said the proposed measure was "foolish. "There was no need to bring in any bill. How can a miniscule population of 0.07 percent convert a majority?" he said.Christians constitute less than 40,000 people out of Rajasthan's population of 56 million and make up less than three percent of India's total population of 1.1 billion.

"It is not just mischievous but downright unconstitutional," said Abraham Mathai, general secretary of the All-India Christian Council. "The right to follow or change to a particular faith can never be unlawful in a civilised society.

"Should the bill be passed, one fears that it will be the stick used to harass minorities in a state where they already feel insecure," Mathai added.

Religious conflicts in India commonly pit Hindus, who make up 80 percent of the population, against Muslims who constitute about 13 percent. But in recent years there have been attacks on Christian chapels and missionaries, blamed on Hindu hardliners.

Rajendra Singh Rathore, Rajasthan's parliamentary affairs minister, said the bill was prompted by the discovery of an increasing number of forced conversions. "Such conversations always remain a threat to the law and order situation in the state," he said.

Similar laws are already on the books in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Orissa.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

It is an itch the Sangh Parivar cannot overcome. If not in Dangs district of Gujarat (where the dream plans of the Parivar failed to take off), it has to be somewhere else. The hate campaign has to go on. Otherwise how could one explain the three-day meeting planned in Orissa, another state known for anti-Christian drive!

A grand Hindu summit is scheduled to be organised at Chakapad in Phulbani district in Orissa from 8-10 April 2006 as part of Shri Guruji's birth centenary year celebrations. About 20 lakh people are expected to participate in the event titled as Sapta Mahajagnya.

The programme, being organised at by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), intends to bring about unification of all Hindus in Orissa and to protect them from conversion and other internal, external attacks.

Part of the programme includes re-conversion of 10,000 people. Later a second Jagannatha temple will be built at Brahmapur in Ganjam district, Orissa. (The first Jagannatha temple, one of the oldest temples of Orissa, is in Puri.)

The preparations of the event are in full swing. Village-to-village campaigns are going on to unite people against all anti-national forces responsible for degradation of

The government in Orissa is at present a coalition government formed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Biju Janata Dal. According to sources, the BJP is trying to work towards a single party government in the next election. This will require creating major unrest in the land.

The All India Christian Council (aicc) has already alerted ANHAD and other secular agencies to conduct an independent enquiry into the programme. "We will move the Central Government for immediate action," the aicc leadership says.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

17th March 2006: The YWAM centre at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh was ransacked and vandalized by Bajrang Dal activist late night on Friday the 17th March 2006. The attackers beat up resident students of the centre and misbehaved with the girl students. As the police arrived at the scene the attackers fled but the police managed to get hold of one of them.

Mukesh Jacob, the central India director for the Youth with a Mission (YWAM) spoke to us, "I first got a call around 9:00 pm from the centre and the students there called me up to say that 4 people from the CBI had come for an enquiry. As I spoke to the alleged CBI personnel over the phone, they clearly told me that they were Bajrang Dal people and wanted to know what we did at our centre. They also wanted to interview our students at the centre and all this at 9:00 in the night."

"I told them to come the next morning as I was not there. Hearing this, the Bajrang Dal activists cut off the phone." Mukesh Jacob further told us, "When I called after this I could hear noises of the attackers forcing our staff not to pick up the phone. This time too the attackers cut off the phone forcibly. I realized what was happening and called the police to intervene in the matter."

Meanwhile around 15 more people from the Bajrang Dal barged in the centre and started to ransack the place and beat the students. They also misbehaved with the ladies students hitting them in private places. The attackers also broke almost the entire furniture, damaged the computer and UPS beyond repair, broke the TV and shattered the window panes. They also involve in using abusive language with the students and allegedly burned Bibles thus injuring the religious feelings of Christians.

While they were still vandalizing the place the police arrived and though most of the attackers managed to escape, the police was able to catch one attacker, who was fully drunk.

Mukesh Jacob told us, "Even after the police arrived the attackers were roaming in the vicinity and around the centre and the police was not arresting them. It was only when we questioned the police and their involvement that they caught some of the attackers and brought them and us to the police station."

"Once in the police station, the police kept evading the possibility of filing an FIR (First Information Report). They even rejected the application I gave saying that I was not personally present at the time of the attack, which is unlawful for the FIR can be filed by anybody even on the basis of mere hearsay. Finally a girl, Ruth Mangalam, from the center filed an FIR but not before the police diluted a lot of facts." Jacob informed us further.

According to information the attackers were led by one Yogesh Agarwal. The police have arrested him and four others so far on the charge of ransacking the Mission office and attacking the couple. Their names are: Inder Bhan, Pushpendra Singh, Arun Pillai and Kedar Namdeo.

The police also made out a case against Mukesh Jacob and his wife Sarah under the Section 4 of Freedom of Religion Act and collected some Christian literature from the center in order to prove that they are involved in religious conversions.

The next day the press gave a report of the incident which was clearly biased against the Christians. Nai Dunia, a prominent Hindi newspaper, even went to the extent of quoting the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Srinivas Rao, "according to the investigation so far it appears that the couple is involved in conversion activities.", thus condemning the Christians already.

Jabalpur situated almost in the centre of India has seen a lot of attacks against the Christian community in the city in the recent past.

Early this year on 26th January, three Christian priests from the Church of Nazarene were arrested from a hotel in Jabalpur on the allegation by Hindu activists that they were involved in the conversion of tribals.

In the past the Hindu activists have also been involved in desecration of Christian shrines in the city and in attacking and physically injuring many Christian pastors including Pastor Munnu Kujur and Pastor Rao.

As Submitted by Vijayesh Lal, Coordinator of the National Forum for Reconciliation, Religious Liberty and Social Justice, over email.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

MUMBAI, March 20 (Compass) - The murder of priest Eusebio Ferrao in Goa state early Saturday morning (March 18) has sent shockwaves through the Catholic communities of India.

Fr. Ferrao, 61, was parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church in Macazana, a village in the western coastal state. Police said assailants evidently stabbed and hit the elderly priest repeatedly before strangling and smothering him.

Fr. Ferrao's body was discovered at around 6:30 a.m. when parishioners arrived for morning mass.

Police said the suspects in the murder are two young men from Uttar Pradesh state, identified only as Amit and Manish, aged between 25 and 30 years, who had shared a meal with Fr. Ferrao the night before he was killed.

The police have ruled out theft as a motive, since nothing was missing from the church premises.

While police are baffled, local Christians believe Fr. Ferrao was targeted because of his recently published comments on religious riots in the south of Goa.

Riots in Goa

Ferrao wrote regularly for two local newspapers, Roti (Bread) and Vauradeacho Ixt (The Worker's Friend). In early March, he expressed his concern about rioting between Hindus and Muslims in Sanvordem, southern Goa.

During the riots on March 2, mobs severely injured two policemen and two civilians, looted 18 shops and a gas station and damaged 24 vehicles owned by Muslims.

Goa Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao believed the riots were deliberately engineered to inflame an already tense situation between Hindus and Muslims in the region, local media reported.

While Goa Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane blamed Hindu extremists in general for the violence, Muslims singled out the extremist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing it of crusading for an all-Hindu state.

"After the riots, I demanded a thorough investigation, but the government had no time to carry out this exercise," Churchill Alemao, member of Parliament for South Goa, told Compass. "Now that this gruesome murder has occurred, I hope the authorities will wake up."

Dangerous Signs

Hindu extremists have been increasingly active in Goa over the past year.

Since February 2005, extremists have carried out a host of burglaries and acts of vandalism against churches. In spite of repeated appeals to the police and state authorities, however, no arrests have been made.

Two incidents last week led some local Christians to believe they were given advance warning of the murder. On Thursday (March 16) a church cross was destroyed, and in a nearby park, a priest's robe was hung from a tree and draped with a mosquito net – perhaps signaling that something more serious was about to take place.

Two weeks earlier, on January 30, a cross was vandalized in north Goa, with the words Shri Pardesi (Mr. Foreigner) boldly written on its broken pieces - implying that the vandals saw Christianity as an unwanted, foreign religion.

"Strategies to stir up communal violence in Goa began during the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union and National Integration Council member, told Compass. "There is a larger conspiracy at work here."

The Rev. Babu Joseph, spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, said the multiple desecrations of Christian religious symbols in Goa in recent weeks signaled a new attempt by Hindu extremists to create tension between religious groups.

Father Cedric Prakash, director of the Center for Human Rights, Justice and Peace in Ahmedabad, said the RSS was targeting Kerala, Goa and Northeast India because of their relatively high Christian populations.

Elections are due next year in Goa, and Hindu extremists may be stirring up communal tensions in an effort to win votes, he said.

JAIPUR: Terming the deregistration of the Emmanuel Mission and the freezing of its accounts by the Rajasthan government as "illegal", cine actor and expelled Samajwadi Party leader Raj Babbar on Tuesday criticised the state government for its "treatment" of Christians.

Addressing a protest by over 50 organisations here against "attacks" on the Christian community in the state, Babbar said "Christians are peace loving and dedicated towards service, so they should not be treated in this manner by the BJP government."

He alleged that state Cooperative Minister Madan Dilawar was acting like a "villain".

"In movies Dilawars are the villains and in real life as well this minister is doing all that villains do," Babbar said.

The protestors demanded Dilawar's resignation and the revoking of the de-registration of the Mission.

JAIPUR: Hundreds of Christians joined a rally in the Rajasthan capital on Tuesday to protest alleged atrocities against the community.

The rally, held outside the state assembly, was backed by the opposition Congress and Left parties.

The protesters condemned the arrest of Bishop Samuel Thomas at Kota and the closure of educational and charitable institutions run by the Emmanuel Mission International in that town.

They also shouted slogans against Social Welfare Minister Madan Dilawar for spearheading an agitation against Christians and institutions run by the community in Kota.

The rally was addressed by MP Raj Babbar, Abraham Mathai, vice chairman of the All India Christian Council, Congress leader Mohan Prakash, and leaders of the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist.

"Ever since the BJP came to power in the state, it has Madan Dilawar to trouble the Christians by attacking the institutions run by them in Kota," Babbar said.

He claimed Hindu fundamentalists had attacked Christians at Kota, Banswara and Dungarpur after alleging they were involved in converting Hindus.

Babbar said these allegations were not true and no forced conversions had taken place.

Rajasthan Police arrested Bishop Samuel Thomas, the chairperson of the Emmanuel Mission International, near Delhi, on March 16. Police had been looking for Thomas and his father M.A. Thomas in connection with for inciting communal passions by publishing a controversial book titled "Hakikat".

The book, written by M.G. Mathew, was distributed through the mission's outlets. Hindu groups said it contained derogatory references to Hindu gods and some Hindu preachers and holy rivers.

Jaipur, March 21 (IANS) Hundreds of Christians joined a rally in the Rajasthan capital Tuesday to protest alleged atrocities against the community.

The rally, held outside the state assembly, was backed by the opposition Congress and Left parties.

The protesters condemned the arrest of Bishop Samuel Thomas at Kota and the closure of educational and charitable institutions run by the Emmanuel

Mission International in that town.

They also shouted slogans against Social Welfare Minister Madan Dilawar for spearheading an agitation against Christians and institutions run by the community in Kota.

The rally was addressed by MP Raj Babbar, Abraham Mathai, vice chairman of the All India Christian Council, Congress leader Mohan Prakash, and leaders of the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist.

'Ever since the BJP came to power in the state, it has Madan Dilawar to trouble the Christians by attacking the institutions run by them in Kota,' Babbar said.

He claimed Hindu fundamentalists had attacked Christians at Kota, Banswara and Dungarpur after alleging they were involved in converting Hindus.

Babbar said these allegations were not true and no forced conversions had taken place.

Mission International, near Delhi, March 16. Police had been looking for Thomas and his father M.A. Thomas in connection with for inciting communal passions by publishing a controversial book titled 'Hakikat'.

The book, written by M.G. Mathew, was distributed through the mission's outlets.

Hindu groups said it contained derogatory references to Hindu gods and some Hindu preachers and holy rivers.

The nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government in Chhattisgarh is embracing Hindutva (Hindu nationalism), Dainik Bhaskar, a popular local Hindi daily has charged.

"The Raman Singh government is following a secret Hindutva agenda," the March 7 edition of the newspaper said. "The government is doing this in consultation with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu sages.

In keeping with its religious policy, the government will provide training to temple priests and their attendants, for which fund has been allotted from the budget, Religious and Cultural Minister Brijmohan Agrawal informed the State Assembly, March 6. He also disclosed the various religious programmes of his ministry.

The state government would also provide financial aid every year to those who go on pilgrimage to Mansarovar, one of the most sacred places of Hindus, the minister said. However, he did not disclose the amount.

According to Dainik Bhaskar estimates, it would cost each pilgrim about Rs. 55,000 for a trip to Mansarovar. Last year, 26 groups had visited the pilgrim centre, each group led by a senior government official.

The state government has also decided to make legislation to organise Kumbh Mela (assembly of Hindu sadhus) in the Hindu pilgrim city of Rajim every year, instead of the current once in four years, the minister announced. And every 12 years, the 'Maha Kumbh' will be organised, he added.

"The BJP government spent Rs 2 crore (20 million) to organise the Kumbh Mela here recently, in which thousands of Hindu sadhus and three sankaracharyas participated," the newspaper claimed.

Declaring Rajim as a religious city, the minister told the Assembly that the aim of organising kumbh in Rajim was "to give an identity to the state at the national level".

The BJP government may have made no bones about its agenda, but this no meaty matter for the opposition - apparently because most of the Congress members are also Hindus.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Rajasthan welfare minister had vowed to "take action" against head of besieged ministry.

NEW DELHI, March 16 (Compass) - Rajasthan state police officers today arrested the Rev. Dr. Samuel Thomas, president of Emmanuel Mission International (EMI) and son of Archbishop M.A. Thomas, EMI's founder.

The arrest took place in Noida, Uttar Pradesh state. Both Thomas and his father had gone underground after Hindu extremists accused them of distributing a controversial book that they alleged denigrated their religion and deities.

Archbishop Thomas is still in hiding. Projects run by the ministry he founded – including orphanages, schools, and a hospital - have been targeted for closure by a wide array of Hindu extremists the past few months, including some who have offered a reward of $26,000 for the heads of the archbishop and his son.

State Welfare Minister Madan Dilawar said earlier this week that he should be stoned if he did not "take action" against Thomas and his father.

The arrest took place at noon when Thomas arrived in the driveway of the home of attorney R.K. Jain, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India, to arrange anticipatory bail for himself and his father. Jain lives in Noida township, Uttar Pradesh state.

Thomas was accompanied by two lawyers, C.J. Babu and Brahum Datt, and Sajan George, the national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).

Several policemen in civil dress stopped the car in which Thomas' party was traveling and forced him into their own vehicle. The officers neglected to follow proper procedure – showing neither their identity cards nor an arrest warrant, according to George.

"Five or six people, one of whom claimed to be the station house officer of the Bhimgunj Mandi police station in Kota, [Rajasthan], tried to push Thomas into a car parked close to the gate of Jain's house," George said in a written complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). "Then one of them put a firearm to my face and warned us not to resist the arrest."

George also argued that the Rajasthan police were shadowing him. "I made an appointment with Jain for 12 noon today, and that shows that they were aware of the appointment – perhaps by tapping my telephone," he said.

Expressing apprehensions about Thomas' well-being, George urged the NHRC to take "appropriate action."

Following the arrest, the NHRC was supposed to request the Rajasthan state government to report back within 24 hours on the status of Thomas, according to George.

'Hurting Religious Sentiments'Mohammad Akram, Thomas' attorney in Rajasthan, said the Kota district court had earlier rejected an anticipatory bail application for Thomas and his father. A bail petition for Archbishop Thomas will come up for hearing in the Rajasthan High Court on March 24, he said.

Mansingh Chaudhary, station house officer of the Bhimgunj Mandi police station, registered an official complaint against Thomas, his father the archbishop, and a few other EMI staff members on February 14, under Section 153(a) and 295(a) of the Indian Penal Code.

Section 153(a) deals with hurting religious sentiments, while Section 295(a) is for deliberately outraging religious feelings or insulting the religious beliefs of a community. Both offenses are punishable with up to three years imprisonment. Moreover, according to a Supreme Court ruling, truth is not a defense under Section 153(a).

EMI senior staff members said the mission was not a major distributor of Haqeeqat (The Truth or Reality), and that they merely kept a few copies of the book at their head office at Kota district. Apparently few staff members had even read the book.

Tensions began on January 25, when Archbishop Thomas and his son received anonymous death threats warning them not to hold the annual graduation ceremony for hundreds of orphans and Dalit Christian students scheduled for February 25. The ceremony was postponed in the wake of the threats and attacks.

On February 2, a mob of Hindu extremists attacked an EMI orphanage in Tindole, resulting in the death of one child and the stoning and beatings of children, staff and local clergy. On February 10 in Ramganjmandi, a Hindu mob burned to the ground an EMI school and orphanage.

On February 20, V.S. Thomas, officer in charge of the Hope Center Orphanage in Raipura, and R.S. Nair, mission chief operating officer, were detained without charges. During the arrests, police stood by as an accuser beat one of the men, according to Hopegivers International.

NEW DELHI, March 15 (Compass) - A concerted attack on Emmanuel Mission International (EMI) orphanages, schools and other ministries in Rajasthan intensified this week when the state welfare minister, Madan Dilawar, said he should be stoned to death if his government effort to take over EMI's properties failed.

The statement came less than a month after the state unduly revoked the licenses of an EMI Bible institute, orphanage, school, hospital and church in the northern state. According to the Hindi daily Rajasthan Patrika, Dilawar on Monday (March 13) said also that he should be stoned if he is unable to "take action" against EMI's founder, Archbishop M.A. Thomas, and his son, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Thomas.

Hindu extremists on March 3 offered a reward of $26,000 each for the heads of Archbishop Thomas and his son. The same day, M.S. Kala, additional director of the Department of Social Welfare of Rajasthan, ordered district collectors to take over EMI institutions and froze their banks accounts, according to Rajasthan Patrika.

The next day, however, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje stepped in to halt the attempted takeover.

A representative of EMI in Delhi who requested anonymity told Compass that the Registrar of Societies gave a three-day notice before revoking the registrations of their institutions on February 20 "on the pretext of violation of procedures required by the laws related to societies."

After EMI officials responded to the allegations, they were told that their reply was unsatisfactory and all their licenses were revoked.

"The state administration has now deployed police at all the institutes of the mission to ensure the protection of their workers," Jacob Matthew, administrator of the Emmanuel hospital, told Compass.

Matthew also said that Kota District Collector Niranjan Arya today (March 15) gave him assurances that he would not allow the patients in the hospital, and the 2,500 children at the Kota orphanage, to suffer due to the tensions. The Emmanuel Hope Home in Kota is funded by Hopegivers International.

On February 2, a mob of Hindu extremists attacked an EMI orphanage in Tindole, resulting in the death of one child and the stoning and beatings of children, staff and local clergy. On February 10 in Ramganjmandi, a Hindu mob burned to the ground an EMI school and orphanage. According to mission officials, local police warned the head of the EMI school and orphanage in advance that they would not stop the violence.

Also on February 10, police in Kota notified Emmanuel Seminary that they would not provide security for the graduation ceremony of 10,250 students and advised Archbishop Thomas to cancel or postpone it. More than 8,100 students relocated their graduation ceremonies to cities in southern India.

After the license of EMI's Kota orphanage was revoked, a gas agency had stopped providing fuel at subsidized rates. Emmanuel Hospital administrator Matthew said Arya, the Kota district collector, assured him that the supply of gas for the orphanage would be provided at the lower price as before.

Hindu extremists on February 25 called for a boycott of the orphanage, ending legal aid from lawyers and food from merchants for the children. EMI officials said that on Febrary 27, building inspectors were being recruited to find fault with the orphanages, schools and church buildings in order to have them condemned and torn down and replaced with yoga centers and Hindu temples.

Tensions began on January 25, when Archbishop Thomas and his son received anonymous death threats warning them not to hold the annual graduation ceremony for hundreds of orphans and Dalit Christian students scheduled for February 25. The ceremony was postponed in the wake of the threats and attacks.

On February 20, V.S. Thomas, officer in charge of the Hope Center Orphanage in Raipura, and R.S. Nair, mission chief operating officer, were detained without charges. During the arrests, police stood by as an accuser beat one of the men, according to Hope International.

In Sanganer on Febraury 22, extremists vandalized a mission school, closing it as elementary school children tearfully ran home, according to Hope International. Two days later in Jaipur, Hindu extremists desecrated and vandalized the Jhotwara Emmanuel Secondary School and Church building, the organization said.

Systematic Campaign

A visit from a fact-finding delegation of parliamentary members from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) may result in the return of EMI bank accounts. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Monday (March 13) gave assurances to the delegation that he would take steps to revive the bank accounts of EMI frozen by the Rajasthan government.

Archbishop Thomas and his son, meantime, have gone underground after non-bailable warrants were issued against them for being the alleged distributors of a book called Haqeeqat (The Truth, or Reality), which the Hindu outfits alleged denigrates their religion and deities.

Under Indian law, hurting religious sentiments of any religious community is punishable offense. Moreover, according to a Supreme Court ruling, truth is not a defense under this law, Section 153(a) of the Indian Penal Code.

Archbishop Thomas' attorney, Mohammad Akram, told Compass that EMI had nothing to do with the controversial book, written by attorney M.J. Matthew in the southern state of Kerala. "A few books were kept at the Emmanuel Mission center at Kota for sale, and no one had read the book - otherwise they wouldn't have kept it at their center," Akram said.

The Sangh Parivar, a family of organizations affiliated with the extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is using the controversial book as a pretext for carrying out a systematic campaign against minority groups, Suresh Kurup, head of the parliamentary delegation told Indian Catholic News Service.

Kurup told the news service that the attacks seemed to be "a planned operation," as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar aimed to close EMI institutions permanently.

Columbus, Georgia (March 16, 2006) - President Samuel Thomas, humanitarian leader of the Hopegivers International children's charity, was arrested in New Delhi today by a dozen men claiming to be police officers from the provincial capital of Kota, Rajasthan. The arrest was made at about 12 noon (10:30 pm EST) outside the office of the Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court where Dr. Thomas was meeting with his attorney to discuss anticipatory bail before surrendering himself to authorities.

Other reports from Kota say that the officers, led by Police Superintendent Bhim Ganj Mandi, delivered the leader to the Kota jail at about 9:00 am EST.

Dr. Sajan George of the Global Council of Indian Christians based in Bangalore called on the National Human Rights Commission in New Delhi to take "appropriate action" to ensure the safety and well being of Dr. Thomas whose life has been threatened by Hindutva extremists. The radicals want to end India’s secular government and make it a Hindu state.

Michael Glenn, Executive Director of Hopegivers International, called upon Christians around the world to pray and work for Dr. Thomas'; safety. He also said that letters of protest to Indian government leaders are very effective and that contributions are also needed. Click here to give to the emergency Legal Defense Fund.

"We need to pray and work for the release of Dr. Thomas, the other Indian staff and the children in Kota," he said.

Meanwhile local anti-Christian hate groups continued the 25th day of the siege against the 2,500 orphans and abandoned children protected at the Emmanuel Hope Home in Kota, Rajasthan. The orphanage is supported by Hopegivers International based in Columbus, Georgia, as well as from donations from the Indian churches and the general public.

Thousands of Christians around the world are praying for the persecuted Christians in Rajasthan and sending letters and faxes to the Indian government in New Delhi asking for emergency protection of the children and staff of the Hopegivers schools and orphanages in Rajasthan.

Local government bureaucracies in Kota, which have been politicized by Hindu extremist groups, have taken a series of illegal actions in the last month to prevent Hopegivers and Rajasthani Christian leaders from offering protection to abandoned children, educational and medical services.

"Of course," said Dr. Samuel Thomas in a recent e-mail, "none of these actions are legal. The terrorists and hate groups have taken the law into their own hands and sadly, we have lost confidence in the local government to control them."

Lawyers for Dr. Thomas and Founder Bishop M. A. Thomas are appealing to the High Court in Rajasthan's capital of Jaipur to set bond for the staff being held without charge in Kota jails. Bishop Thomas began a church in Kota in 1960.

"The Thomas' need to remain free so that they can lead a defense of the social welfare work in Rajasthan which includes 65 schools and 13 orphanages," said Hopegivers spokesman Dr. Bill Bray in a recent news interview.

"There is real physical danger if the Thomas' remain in Kota at this time," said Dr. Bray. "Terrorists are threatening their lives daily."

Rajasthan newspapers have repeatedly quoted terrorist leaders offering a reward of $26,000 to paramilitary groups who will capture and behead either of the Christian leaders. "Saffron gangs" invaded the homes of family and friends of the Thomas’ on Monday, searching for the two Christian leaders.

To counter the well-organized campaign of terror, slander, frivolous lawsuits and intimidation, Hopegivers has started the Legal Defense Fund in an effort to cope with the illegal actions of the local government and the onslaught of civil and human rights violations that are occurring in the state of Rajasthan. Hopegivers is also working with the National Human Rights Commission in New Delhi to speed up an investigation from the central government and asking the prime minister and president of India to intervene for the sake of the children and to protect the lives of non-Hindus all over India.

"We are asking friends of human rights to fax and write letters today asking for investigators to begin checking into what is going on in Kota," said Executive Director Mike Glenn.

Emmanuel Ministries has been based in Kota since 1960 and has operated social services there without regard to caste or creed since 1973, especially to Dalits, the so-called untouchable caste of Hinduism.

Last week, with the open encouragement of Madan Dilawar, Rajasthan’s minister of social welfare, representatives from Hindu extremist organizations Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal extended their month-long campaign of terror against Emmanuel and Hopegivers International who care for more than 20,000 orphaned or abandoned children throughout India and Africa.

On February 20, the police revoked without due process or hearing, all the operating licenses of Hopegivers-supported bookstores, churches, the hospital and leprosy or HIV-AIDS outreaches, orphanages, printing presses, schools and other institutions.

Threats were also made to cut off electricity and water to the facilities. Although the orphanage in Kota has a well for drinking water, sanitation would become a problem if the terrorists make good on their threats. Meanwhile, there are adequate food and water supplies.

All bank accounts were frozen and the business administrators of the mission and orphanage were arrested and held without bail when police investigations began February 20. As a result, the hospital, orphanages and schools here and throughout the state are operating on a cash basis and are relying efforts to collect emergency funds from India and overseas.

Mr. Dilawar is reported in local newspapers to have issued an order to remove all pastors from Emmanuel Churches and take over all of Hopegivers' schools and orphanages throughout Rajasthan. He has suggested that the private properties be seized and sold by the state.

When asked about what should happen to the 2,500 children of the orphanage, Rajasthan's government along with other militant groups have taken the position to simply let them go back to the streets they were rescued from. Hopegivers has offered to bus the orphans to some of their other 86 orphanages throughout India, but local government and police have refused to provide security.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

The Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed a furore over an attack on Emanuel Mission, a Christian organisation working in Rajasthan, allegedly by Sangh Parivar activists with CPI (M) and BJP members trading charges, forcing adjournment of the House for 40 minutes.

The issue came up during Zero Hour as CPM member Suresh Kurup alleged that the Sangh Parivar outfits had unleashed a "systematic hate campaign" against the Mission which was carrying out philanthropic work and running schools in the state.

Mr Kurup alleged that the BJP Government in Rajasthan had failed to take action to check Sangh Parivar groups.

Provoked by the charges, BJP members, including their Deputy Leader V K Malhotra and Srichand Kripalani, hit back and accused the Mission of denigrating Hindu Gods in a book published by it. Despite warnings by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee against waving the book and appeals to the two sides to maintain calm, the furore continued forcing him to adjourn the House.

The Left members also sought a statement on the issue from Home Minister Shivraj Patil who was present in the House.

JAIPUR - Attacks on a Christian organisation in Rajasthan allegedly by radical Hindu activists reverberated in Lok Sabha, forcing adjournment of the House for 40 minutes as Communist Party of India (Marxist) and BJP members traded charges.

The issue came up on Monday during Zero Hour as CPM member Suresh Kurup alleged that the Hindu outfits like Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal had unleashed a 'systematic hate campaign' against the Emanuel Mission International which was carrying out social work and running schools in the state.

Kurup alleged that the BJP government in Rajasthan had failed to take appropriate action to check radical Hindu groups.

Provoked by the charges, BJP members, including their deputy leader V.K. Malhotra and Srichand Kripalani, hit back and accused the Mission of denigrating Hindu deities in a book published by it.

Despite warnings by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee against waiving the book and appeals to the two sides to maintain calm, the furore continued forcing him to adjourn the House.

A five-member delegation of members of parliament from CPM had recently toured Kota on a fact-finding mission and said that attacks on Christian institutions in Rajasthan by the radical Hindu organisations were 'unprovoked'.

The Communist MPs in New Delhi called on Home (Interior) Minister Shivraj Patil, who assured them that the Central government would take appropriate steps to protect Christian institutions.

Patil said the central government would take steps to revive the bank accounts of Emanuel Mission International that were frozen by the Rajasthan government.

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was on Monday abruptly adjourned after protests over alleged attacks on a Christian mission in Rajasthan.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the house after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members protested when Left MPs raised the issue during zero hour. The BJP is in power in Rajasthan.

Suresh Kurup of the Communist Party of India-Marxist said five of his colleagues had visited Kota in Rajasthan and found there has been a systematic campaign against the Emanuel Mission Institution there for the last three weeks.

According to Kurup, the state government had frozen the mission's bank accounts, resulting in a shortage of food for the children lodged there.

But the BJP MPs protested against the remark, and Chatterjee adjourned the house after his repeated pleas to restore order were ignored.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Tarlochan was BJP's pet. He misused his powers against the Christian interests widely during the BJP regime. He perpetually echoed the Hindutva version about the absence of persecution of minorities in India. Further more he navigated the NMC to Hindutva shores.

He has lied once more, without any shame, while telling the visiting American President that the minorities are not persecuted in some parts of India.

The question remains as to who invited Tarlochan to the meeting. He is not a religious leader as far any Indian knows .He is neither a representative of the Sikh religion nor an inter-faith personality. He is nothing more than a person with political clout having managed to bag a plump post.

It seems that the American President has been taken for a ride by the person planted to provide misinformation. It is upon the sane voices in India and abroad to expose the falsity in his statement.

The lies which have been propagated by Tarlochan will only encourage the persecutors for whom he has literally given a clean chit. Sad that the so called high profile religious leaders just stood as mute spectators.

From the Persecuted Church of India Yahoo Group

Tarlochan Lies to Bush about Persecution in India

NEW DELHI: US President George W. Bush will carry home memories of an inter-faith meeting with nine spiritual leaders that revealed to him the religious diversity of this "amazing" country.

"The world can have peace only if people of different religions live together in peace, and India is a good example of that," Bush told religious leaders at a closed-door meeting at the Maurya Sheraton's Sky Lounge on Thursday afternoon.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Ambassador David C. Mulford looked on as Bush charmed his audience by declaring that that he is a firm believer and a Methodist and "I believe in the Almighty God".

"One of the things that struck me during the conversation is, India is a country that recognises the importance of religion and welcomes interfaith dialogue," Bush was quoted as saying in a White House press release.

"(India) understands the importance of faith, and understands the importance of people of faith, discussing thoughts and views that are deep in their hearts," Bush added.

Present at the meeting were Tarlochan Singh, former chairperson of the National Commission on Minorities, Rajya Sabha MP L.M. Singhvi, Shia leader Mohammad Rizvi, Zafar Mahmood (member of the committee examining the socio-economic status of Muslims), James Massey of the Church of North India, Dominic Emmanuel of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, Acharya Srivatsa Goswami of the Sri Chaitanya Sansthan, Swami Agnivesh, and Tibetan scholar Doboom Tulku.

Describing the meeting as a unique experience, Tarlochan Singh said: "This was the first-ever inter-faith meeting with a visiting foreign head of state in India.

"It showed the unity of all religions in India to Bush. It also helped clear the misconception in some parts of India that minorities are persecuted in this country."

Singh recalled Bush as saying: "I was aware of this (multi-religious society of India), but my views have been strengthened."

Guru and activist Swami Agnivesh told Bush, perhaps in an oblique reference to American troops in Iraq: "It is now for you to apply godliness in governance." He alluded to Emperor Asoka's spiritual conversion to the Buddhist faith after the massacre in the Kalinga war.

Friday, March 10, 2006

The Lok Sabha was once again adjourned on Thursday. This time it was over a book published by a Christian missionary group that contained "insulting remarks" against Hindu gods.

Raising the issue in the House during Zero Hour, Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Kota Srichand Kriplani said a book named 'Haqeeqat', written by MJ Mathew and published by the Emmanuel Mission, maligned Lord Krishna, Goddess Saraswati and other Hindu gods.

He said the mission, which has been functioning in Kota in Rajasthan for 21 years, was "working against the national interests".

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked the MP not to make allegations against any community.

Some Rashtriya Janata Dal and Kerala MPs also protested Kriplani's remarks saying he was misleading the House and that the Emmanuel Mission had nothing to do with the book.

Kriplani then sought permission to table the book, but it was denied by the Speaker. This provoked protests from the BJP members who disrupted the proceedings, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House from 12:30 pm to 2:15 pm.

The Emmanuel Mission has in the past been accused of trying to convert people to Christianity. There was tension in Kota last month after Hindu activists tried to attack a gathering at the mission.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

NEW DELHI, March 8 (Compass) - Young men in the eastern state of West Bengal assaulted Christian women from two different families on Thursday (March 2) and on February 16. Fearing for their lives, the mother and daughter of one of the families have temporarily moved away from home.

In last week's assault, six young men forced their way into the home of Kanai Kamelia in East Medinipur district, manhandling and trying to sexually assault his wife, RenukaKamelia, according to a local Christian who requested anonymity. During the assault, the youths reviled the Kamelia family for attending a Christian prayer meeting.

"Not only this, they went to the extent of taking his 20-year-old daughter to another house and locked her up for about an hour," the Christian source said. He added that he suspected they molested her before setting her free.

Renuka Kamelia, who bled profusely after the assault, was treated at a local hospital. She later went to the Bhupathinagar police station, where police were said to have reluctantly registered her complaint.

When Compass spoke to B.C. Kundu, officer in charge of the Bhupathinagar police station, however, he denied having any knowledge of the attack. "We have not lodged any such complaint, and nor have we been informed of anything of this sort," he said.

The local Christian source said that Bharat Maiti, zonal committee member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), was seemingly shielding the attackers. He also said the reason for the attack was the increasing influence of Biman Bandhu Patra, in whose house the Kamelias attended prayer meetings in the neighboring village of South Patharberia. A growing number of villagers were coming for prayer meetings there and in Laudigi, where the 45-year-old Patra is also influential.

Seekers who attend prayer meetings at Patra's house, the Kamelias live in Laudigi in Kontai Taluka, East Medinipur (also known as Midnapore East).

The names of the six attackers are Madhab Bag, Biren Bag, Rinku Dey, Bidyut Mondal, Surajit Kamelia and Chandan Mondal. They range in age from 18 to 20.

"Kamelia's wife and daughter have temporarily moved away from their house, as they are still feeling insecure," the local Christian said.

Brother Against Brother

Patra's own brother, Bidyut Patra, led the February 16 attack by a group of 13 local residents against the influential Christian leader's wife. Bidyut Patra had long been upset about his brother's decision to become a Christian.

From a committed Hindu family, Patra accepted Christ in 1991. Opposition intensified in 2000, when his mother passed away and he refused to shave his head as required by Hindu custom.

"At 7:30 a.m. on February 16, a group of 13 people came to my house and inquired about me," Patra said. "When my wife Sushma told them that I had gone to Kolkata, they manhandled her and demolished the boundary wall of our house."

The attackers pulled her hair and pushed her several times. They also allegedly threatened to kill her family if they did not move out of the village.

The house in which Patra lives is built on land that his father bought for him. But his brother has tried to force Patra to move out of the village by claiming that the house is built on land encroaching on his own property.

When Patra'a wife went to the Bhupathinagar police station, police refused to lodge her complaint. Instead, they allegedly threatened to arrest her if she insisted on lodging the complaint.

When Patra returned from Kolkata, he contacted a lawyer to file a complaint against the 13 local Hindus.

"At the next hearing on April 3, the court is expected to take cognizance of the offence and issue summons to the accused," Mullick said.

Police Officer In-Charge Kundu claimed that the boundary wall of Patra's house was built on government land, and that therefore villagers decided to demolish it.

Maiti, the CPI-M leader, told Compass that the attack resulted from a dispute between Patra and his brother and that it was not because he is a Christian.

But the local Christian source said, "The attackers are trying to use the land dispute as a cover-up for their opposition to the prayer meetings held by Patra." He added that Patra was earlier attacked by a group of women carrying sickles and other sharp weapons last year.

West Bengal is ruled by the CPI-M, an ally of the United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress Party.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Raising Hindutva concerns ahead of the assembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Monday charged Christian missionaries with indulging in conversions and demanded a blanket ban on them.

Terming religious conversions as the "greatest threat" facing Scheduled Tribes, apart from uenmployment, poverty and illiteracy, he said, "Have you ever seen the rich converting? It is only the poor who do it. The tribals are a simple and emotional people who would be grateful for even a little service and convert.

"The activities of the Christian missionaries is a major challenge as conversions change not only the country's demographic profile but also its unique identity." "Collective conversions are a cruel joke on the poverty of the poor. The missionaries are taking undue advantage of their financial weakness. There should be a blanket ban of conversions," Singh told the valedictory function of the party's Scheduled Tribe Morcha Executive meeting in New Delhi.

He, however, said conversions in "special situations" could be considered. He did not explain such "situations."

The BJP chief said while the party did not believe in discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed, religion and language, "we will not indulge in appeasement to expand the party's base.

We will pursue the path of justice." Expressing serious concern over the policy of "minorityism" being pursued by the United Progressive Alliance government, he likened the Muslim headcount with the separate electoral constituencies for Muslims proposed by the 1916 Lucknow All India Congress Committee session "…which led to the country's partition".